The other Shostakovich?

Question

So the great local radio station here has been playing a lot of Shostakovich lately- and while it's distinctly Russian (I think...) it's not really the bone-jarring roars of musical fury for which one notes Shostakovich to be reputed.

And then a week later, they played one. Whoa. It was like an earthquake!! It was cool =) maybe even surpassing my golden boy of forceful symphony, Dvorak! =)

Well last night at the library I checked out five of Dmitriy's symphonies. Yay! Deutsche Grammaphone mostly I think. Yay!

Well, which ones are more or less toothy, pray tell?

Answer 1

Something of a speciality of mine, having done a thesis on him *cough* *cough* years ago.

No 1 - a brilliant student work but there is little 'typical' Shostakovich here.
No 2 - written for the 10th anniversary of the 1917 revolution. A short 20-minute work in one movement in several sections. Not a great work but with some very interesting hyper-contrapuntal writing at the beginning, signifying the choas of the revolution.
No 3 - doesn't really hold together. Hardly ever performed and one of Shostakovich's weakest works.
No 4 - a hard nut to crack and of gargantuan proportions, this is, however, a masterpiece that rewards repeated listening. The première was delayed from 1936 until 1961 due to Party pressures. VERY toothy.
No 5 - the best-known of the 15. A good piece but a big step back in style from the 'dangerous' 4th.
No 6 - an oddity but a wonderful piece. Worth checking out.
No 7 (Leningrad) - has had a poor press over the years and does have its moments of bombast but still worth investigating if you like an exciting ride.
No 8 - Long, tragic and profound. Not an easy one to love but a truly moving experience. One of his best IMHO. Pretty toothy, I'd say.
No 9 - A breath of light relief after the two previous wartime epics. A lovely piece with a lightheartedness (albeit sometimes ironic) you won't find elsewhere in the symphonies.
No 10 - considered by many to be the peak of the cycle of symphonies. Powerful, majestic, contrasted - get this one if you don't already have it.
No 11 - A programatic symphony based on the abortive 1905 uprising in Russia. Rather film-music in style but plenty of toothy moments.
No 12 - a real let-down. Shostakovich going through the motions. I wonder if it was deliberate that the piece dedicated to the 1917 October revolution turned out to be shallow, hollow and bombastic?
No 13 - half symphony, half cantata, a setting of controverisl poems by Yevtushenko. Similar in form to No 8 and very toothy.
No 14 - not really a symphony at all but a song-cycle of 11 movements on the subject of death for bass, soprano and a small chamber orchestra of a few strings and percussion. Dark, profound and harrowing, this is one of the best.
No 15 - an enigma, full of quotations and quirky ideas but some wonderful music once you get used to its odd format.

Also recommended:
The Execution of Stepan Razin - a wonderful, powerful cantata which is a thrilling listen.
Quartets 3, 8, 10, 13 - much more intimate expression. Try these four first and then explore the others.
Piano Quintet - an excellent chamber work - more like a symphony for 5 players.
Lady Macbeth from Mtsensk/Katerina Izmailova - the opera that got Shostakovich into so much trouble in 1936 - and got the 4th symphony pulled from rehearsals. One of his greatest and most graphic masterpieces.
Ballet suites 1-4 - sample the lighter side of Shostakovich. Not great music but entertaining stuff.
Hamlet - music for the 1964 film (not to be confused with the earlier music from a film of the same name from 1932). One of the greatest film scores ever written.

There - that should keep you out of mischief for a few months!

Answer 2

With so much symphonic sound and fury on offer, Charlie -- whatever it may signify -- it's perhaps easy to overlook the concertante works which, apart from having enjoyed some superficial popularity of late, show Shostakovich's imagination and inventiveness at its very best in each of the major concertos while having a more or less unerring sense for choosing just the right proportion and size of canvas for his material and its importance relative to the purpose of the work it serves: at times a divertissement à la Ravel or Poulenc (the 2nd piano concerto), then a major essay in alternative ways to shape the form altogether (the 1st violin and 1st 'cello concertos), or a quite off-the-wall instrumental combination (1st concerto for piano, trumpet and strings), yet all are major inventions, unmistakably by Shostakovich and could only be by him. And all are quite untainted by the sometimes cloying flavour of 'Russian grandiose' that, too often, their concertos can prove to be heir to.

Does this yet-another-Shostakovich amount to 'toothy'? You decide... :-)

(The roll-call:
Concerto No. 1 for piano, trumpet & strings op. 35
Piano Concerto No. 2 op. 102
Violin Concerto No. 1 op. 77
Violin Concerto No. 2 op. 129
Cello Concerto No. 1 op. 107
Cello Concerto No. 2 op. 126)

Answer 3

The only symphony of Shostakovich I genuinely love is his Seventh! You can't beat that Invasion theme that rolls around in the first movement, but I especially love the last movement. It starts off quiet, the becomes grim, but eventually develops itself into a titanic ending, especially with the last two minutes as the bass drum bangs away, overpowering even the timpani! One of the best finales ever!

Answer 4

Based on what you have described I would recommend these pieces:

Symphony Nos.5, 10 and 11 (then perhaps 12, 8, 7 and 4. The 4th is one of my favorites, it is more “modern” than his later symphonies, he suppressed it himself after he was denounced for his Opera – Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. It was finally given a performance many years after Stalin’s Death)

String Quartets Nos. 8, 10 and 7

Chamber Symphony for Strings OP.110a (his String Quartet No.8 arranged for String Orch.)

Symphony for Strings OP.118a (his String Quartet No.10 arranged for String Orch.)

And finally there is a great piece called “October” Op.131, its fairly rare but quite nice and reminiscent of his more aggressive “War Years” work.

I hope this list helps you out… I also suggest reading up on him; he lived an amazing and interesting life within the Soviet Union under the strict creative confines of the Central Committee where formalism and individualism could get you imprisoned or executed.



- Glinzek - I am biting my tongue :)

Answer 5

Shotakovich's output, IMO, was spotty in quality.

I like 1, 5, 6, and 10. I still think the 5th is his absolute best. 9 is kind of neo-classic, but still with his special "bite" I cannot stand the 7th. With the 15th, I was sure that the man had gone senile.